First off, let me say getting all Spicer joints is the way to go, the quality is far superior and will last much longer than any off brand joint you can find. Believe me there is a difference and yes they are that are worth getting.

So how many joints do you need? The front axle will have 2, the front driveshaft will have 3 and the rear driveshaft (stock) will have 2. If you have a CV driveshaft in the back then that will have 3 instead of 2. So either 7 or 8 is the easy answer.

If your going to rebuild the driveshafts you may want to replace the center ball assemblies at the same time, especially if they have a lot of miles on them. Also check for play in the slip joints too if they have ANY play they will need to be either repaired or replaced. Good luck with it.

 

a good u joint for the drive shafts which i have been using now are toms woods gold seal ujoint. They are 20 bucks each, have a grease fitting in the cap, and have a great seal on them. I like having non greasables in the axle shafts and greasables in the driveshafts but the only greasables spicer carry are drilled in the middle of the cross trunion, toms woods have them in the cap so i believe these are much stronger and you can grease them for longer life. Always use spicer joints, get 2 spicer 760x u joints for the front axle shafts and i would order all your driveshaft u joints from tom woods-> gold seal 1310 series greasable u joint.

 

So Spicer 760x for the front axle shafts but does anyone know the spicer part number for the driveshafts?

 

i used the Brute Force joints from advanced auto when i did mine and was very impressed with the quality, so don't let these guys tell you otherwise. They're made my Neapco, which i believe has been around even longer than Spicer, and quality is quite comparable. They should work great for you.

 

i wouldnt say brute force are comparable to spicers at all.... oem parts>parts store parts always. Spicers 760x joint is cold forged and is the strongest joint besides CTMS. Any other parts store joint is heat forged, 760s are cold forged, tripple sealed and have the largest cross available. A stronger cross trunion means the trunion ends inside the caps are less likely to wear from the roller bearings, creating tighter gaps which means less debris/water/dirt ect will be able to get into the roller bearings. Any joint with a cheap seal and worn out roller bearings will eventually allows water to go in and destroy a joint. Idk about you man but dana/spicer will always be of better quality then some parts store quality parts. You get what you pay for when it comes to u joints, im sure these brute force joints will do the job for someone just street driving but if you do any off pavement driving id say why not go with the best quality joint you can get? 760s are like under 28$ a piece anyway.

My original axle shaft u joints lasted just under 100k miles.
My front axle drive shaft u joints have 120k on them and are still tight.
My rear driveshaft was from an xj with 250k miles on it (im sure they where replaced at some point), i installed this shaft when doing my sye and didnt replace any of the joints, those originals lasted another 30k miles after i got it. I'm finally replacing the last u joint on that driveshaft in the next few days.
These u joints were driven on snowy salt covered roads for many winters, and wheeled hard on the rocks and obviously through some muddy water out on the trails and they still lasted that many miles. If these joints can handle the stresses of wheeling locked on 33s on blue/black trails im sure anyone just driving around down will be fine. If the joints are greasable you have to keep up on the maintanence with them to get the most out of them.

I'd say the original spicers lasted a pretty damn long time, go for u joints that you know will last you another 100+k miles.

 

the current u joints have 152,588 miles on them. im confident they have never been touched... Im gonna look at the spicer's but i have a 50% off coupon for the Advance Auto:2thumbsup: So i still might use it for this and get the brute force. It was my understanding that the non greaseable joints were stronger because they werent drilled...and the greaseable were better for everyday highway and city use, but needed to be greased accordingly. Because the tubes were drilled for fittings it makes them weaker. I dont really want to spend my saturday afternoons greasing lol so im gonna get brute force with the lifetime warranty so if it brakes o well....:cheers2:

 

I got Spicer 5-153Xs shipped from Northern Drivetrain cheaper than I can buy them locally.

http://www.northerndrivetrain.com/product/SPI-5-153X.html

 

The nice thing about non-greaseable is they are zero maint. Instead of getting into a pizzing contest on what beer tastes better we should answer his question. Assuming you are stock driveshafts:

Front Axle:
-2 knuckle U-joints (interior snap ring)

Front Driveshaft:
-3 U-joints (exterior snap ring)

Rear Driveshat:
- 2 U-joints (exterior snap ring)

All U-joints are the same with the exception of the front knuckles.
Get what fits the budget/coupon, either way you will be doing them again in the future.

:cheers2:

 

the guy who i quoted asking about what size the ds u joints were isnt the original poster..... i didnt know that both of those guys had coupons to advanced. Jeepkid03 never mentioned anything about having a coupon, onlysn0wman4unc mentioned having a coupon for advanced and was gona get the brute force joints.

 

yep no coupon for me.

Is there a special tool needed for u-joints? Everyone I talk to says use a vise or pound it with a hammer.

Thanks for the info :thumbsup:

 

you will need a set of snap ring pliers and/or needle nose pliers, and i would go rent a ball joint press from autozone.. its free so why not. obv you will need the assortment of wrenches and sockets to get the parts off to replace the u joint but that depends on which one is being replaced.

 

I have snap ring pliers, but just wanted to see if there was another way besides a hammer. Dont want to mangle the driveshaft. I'll probably rent the ball joint press since I'll be doing the front and rear shafts plus my friend's Ranger.

 

a flat head screw driver and some pb blaster also helps. If you have an impact gun it makes this job go much quicker

 

I'd save the coupon for other stuff and get the Spicers' anyway. That's just me though, I won't put junk on my truck even if it's free.

 

i don't know where people got this idea that Spicer is the the only decent u-joint manufacturer out there. Neapco makes very good products, and are very comparable to Spicer, especially their Brute Force line. And at least they are still made in the USA and carry a lifetime warranty. Granted spicers were used OEM and have a very good service record, but it doesn't make them the one and only reliable option

 

Are these "brute force" joints from AA the ones with the red seals?

 

yes

 

Definitely rent a press, especially if the factory u-joints are what you're taking out. They will be IN there.

 

strong nd quality u joints will pay for themselves. any of these cheap joints have a greater chance at breaking and when they go 99.9% of the time they take the shaft ears with it. I have spares but id rather not have to change shafts often on the trail that often if you know what i mean.

 

Theres a ujoint press you can buy. Its 60$ at princess auto and was the best 60$ I've ever spent.

 

The harbor freight press has been used about 10x on the trail alone for ujoints and is routinely whorred around around the group for repairs. Its around 50 and does ball joints as well. Its very stout (unlike most their stuff:laugh

The Spicer part number for the driveshaft u-joints is 5-153x.

In my experience, the 785x's (nongreasable) are a bit more durable and last just as long. You also dont have to worry about the grease zerks interfering in the cv assembly.

Get spicers, you wont regret it. Actionmachine.com has good prices on them and ship quickly.

Avoid the AA ones mentioned earlier. Im fairly certain the brute force are what I had (around 20 at AA and have red seals). If that is the case, I popped both the crosses within six months of putting them in the front shafts on my TJ on 32s and an aussie. I have replaced them with 760x spicers now. The XJ has the same axle, locker, and shafts as my TJ and has survived much harder wheeling on 35s for several years with the 760x's. Just my experience, and not 100% they were brute force, but evidence points to it....

 

im definately looking at the 5-785x on Northern Drivetrain and its only $17.12 i like what i see. non grease and it looks strong. I think i am going to order these this weekend. I have a radiator and a 2 inch lift already to install this weekend. My wife is complaining im spending too much money on te jeep already, ive only had it since december. Verify 5-785x is for the front axle and i need TWO of these joints.

 

5-785x is an outside snap 1330 joint. Its used for the front and rear driveshaft. 3 for the front ds, 2 for the oem rear ds, 3 for a aftermarket rear cv style shaft.

5-760x is an inside snap ring used for the front axle shafts. 2 required.